There is a boldness to the title of singer Lavie Lujah’s debut album. I am Lavie Lujah, released in late October, realises a dream he had growing up in his native St Elizabeth.

I am Lavie Lujah hit the market one year after the Toronto-based artiste won the inaugural Jamaica International Independence Foreign Song Competition (JIIFSC) with Certified Yardie, which is one of 21 songs on the album.

“I feel excited and fulfilled to know that a dream once deemed lost has come true and an idea long ago conceived has become a product to be consumed. I also feel humbled to be the first from my little bush [named] Kinowl in St Elizabeth to produce a music album,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Lavie Lujah said he and his team started work on the album early last year. It took just over one year to complete, with the guidance of producers Small Axe Music Production, Fyahbeats.com and SFRbeats.com.

While just into the second year of his recording career, Lavie Lujah (real name Laval Wilkinson) went for multiple songs on the album, because “I wanted to showcase my versatility, so I opted for a bigger number which allows me enough room to sample various styles and moods”.

A behaviour specialist by profession, Lavie Lujah has lived in Toronto for 20 years. Citing Bob Marley, Beres Hammond and John Holt as his biggest influences, music took a backseat as he pursued a nine-to-five career.

In 2020, he released I Can’t Breathe, his first song which was inspired by the racially charged George Floyd incident in the United States in May that year. Last year, he topped six rivals with Certified Yardie to win the JIIFSC in Atlanta, Georgia.

Lavie Lujah defended his title this year with Jamaica Rise N Shine which placed second.